from Hacker News

Trump pardons convicted Binance founder

by cowboyscott on 10/23/25, 3:41 PM with 1096 comments

  • by scrlk on 10/23/25, 3:45 PM

  • by Havoc on 10/23/25, 6:44 PM

    Coffeezilla video about this is up already

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMEJTORMVN4

  • by kbd on 10/23/25, 8:56 PM

    The pardon power has been so abused these past few administrations that it's clear there should be constitutional changes in the pardon power, either congressional review, or strip it altogether.

  • by noisy_boy on 10/24/25, 12:51 AM

    There should be a limit on the number of pardons a president can do during their tenure so that they have to at least think a bit before using it. It is a very powerful tool that actually allows a last resort. But this kind of egregious abuse of it's power means it needs to be kept in check.

  • by hshdhdhehd on 10/23/25, 9:19 PM

    Poor drug dealers: Extrajudicial murder in international waters.

    Rich drug dealers: Freedom.

    Be a rich drug dealer.

  • by yalogin on 10/24/25, 12:27 AM

    If one leaves all integrity and morals the president of the richest country in the world can really amass a ton of wealth. I actually suspect that the shares the “US” government s getting from intel and other companies actually goes to trump somehow. Everything is up for sale with this administration. Just sad, the high moral ground the country occupied is just wiped out and it’s now just like any other corrupt Asian country

  • by dredmorbius on 10/23/25, 5:17 PM

  • by MrToadMan on 10/23/25, 11:05 PM

    The swamp is now a protected wetland.

  • by ajdlinux on 10/24/25, 1:36 AM

    It's bizarre to me, an Australian, how the pardon power is used in the US. Our federal, state and territory executive governments all have a pardon power, inherited from English law, that is, formally, unlimited (like the US federally and indeed it's less restrictive than many US states for state crimes).

    It is a power used very sparingly, even though legally it is unlimited - the state of New South Wales is, as far as I know, the only one which publishes details about uses of the pardon power; in an average year there are 0 successful pardon/commutation applicants, and it's an exceptionally merciful year if they grant 2 or more. Other states and the federal government may or may not be a bit more generous, but we're talking very small numbers. Most pardons are for reasons of unsafe convictions where for whatever reason no remaining avenues of appeal are available (rare, these days, because each state has introduced laws to enable post-conviction reviews).

    Historically, particularly in the 19th century convict era, the pardon power was much more important, and was indeed abused for political reasons on a number of occasions, but it seems that for the most part it quietly exists in the background and only gets significant public attention once every blue moon for a high-profile murder case or similar.

    What explains the difference? Is it the requirement for sign-off by the King's viceroys that prevents abuse? Collective Cabinet governance that is accountable to Parliament? Maybe our political culture means politicians' friends tend to end up in prison less often and thus there's less opportunity for the abuse of pardons specifically? It's not particularly clear to me - if anyone's got some good comparative studies send me links!

  • by koolba on 10/23/25, 4:12 PM

    > Zhao, in November 2023, pleaded guilty in Seattle federal court and agreed to step down as Binance CEO as part of a $4.3 billion settlement by the company with the Department of Justice.

    Did he already pay the $4.3 billion? That's a lot of money, even for the federal government.

  • by dreamcompiler on 10/23/25, 8:16 PM

    I'm sure SBF and Elizabeth Holmes will be next.

  • by BLKNSLVR on 10/24/25, 12:23 AM

    Is white collar crime / financial fraud just not going to be a crime in the US any more?

  • by wnevets on 10/23/25, 9:14 PM

    This Administration loves criminals.

  • by Ankaios on 10/24/25, 1:19 AM

    If you have Republican senators or a Republican House rep, call their offices and tell them what you think of this.

  • by jmspring on 10/23/25, 9:24 PM

    Of course he did. Republicans can’t complain about Clinton’s pardon of Marc Rich any more.

  • by stunt on 10/24/25, 1:47 PM

    We are allowing this to happen. For so many years corrupt politicians have avoided any consequences so it grows and becomes new normal.

    Market manipulation has been the norm for many years because nobody did anything to stop it.

    Pardoning criminals is becoming the new normal. Next normal is going to be launching wars to distract public and is going to cost a lot of lives.

  • by perihelions on 10/23/25, 5:31 PM

    Key line:

    > "Since Trump’s election, Binance has also been a key supporter of his family’s World Liberty Financial crypto venture, a business that has driven a huge leap in the president’s personal wealth."

    "Huge leap" meaning $5 billion,

    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-wlfi-world-liberty-financ... ("New crypto token boosts Trump family's wealth by $5 billion")

  • by Bombthecat on 10/24/25, 2:19 PM

    As the sub on Reddit would go: I voted for this!

    Idiots... They see as a positive thing or just ignore it

  • by taylodl on 10/23/25, 3:52 PM

    I'm impressed. Leavitt managed to Blame the Biden administration, effectively asserting that Zhao's crimes were a result of the Biden administration's "war on crypto." Never mind that Zhao was engaged in criminal activity for which he was prosecuted, tried, and found guilty.

  • by miohtama on 10/23/25, 9:19 PM

    For the accurate context:

    CZ was pardoned for a single charge of failure to have an effective compliance program. No fraud, no victims, no criminal history. No money laundering.

    CZ is the first and only known first-time offender in U.S. history to receive a prison sentence for this single, non-fraud-related charge. The judge found no evidence that he knew of any illicit transactions and that it was reasonable for him to believe there were no illicit funds on the platform.

    Trump is a very twisted person, and this makes the US look bad, but the underlying crime was "compliance."

  • by 1970-01-01 on 10/23/25, 9:37 PM

    Good news: This shows they absolutely need any and all money they can get.

    Bad news: They are getting the kickback money.

  • by LunaSea on 10/23/25, 10:06 PM

    Crime is legal

  • by skm12 on 10/23/25, 4:59 PM

    - Zhao has ties to World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture that Trump and his sons Eric and Donald Jr. launched in September.

    - Trump’s most recent financial disclosure report reveals he made more than $57 million last year from World Liberty Financial

  • by insane_dreamer on 10/23/25, 4:30 PM

    Most corrupt president in living memory (ever?) pardons convicted corrupt businessman, while directly profiting from said corrupt businessman's industry

    Years ago people would have thought you were talking about the DRC, Haiti or Uzbekistan. Today's it's the USA.

  • by ghtbircshotbe on 10/24/25, 12:59 PM

    I am having trouble understanding the rational for these pardons. The best I can come up with is that they've decided that there is literally nothing that would cause them to lose the support of Republican voters, and the actions are being instigated by right wing trolls.

  • by martythemaniak on 10/23/25, 9:01 PM

    COLLINS: Today you pardoned the founded of Binance. Can you explain why you did that?

    TRUMP: Which one was that?

    COLLINS: The founder of Binance

    TRUMP: I believe we're talking about the same person, because I do pardon a lot of people. I don't know. He was recommended by a lot of people.

    https://bsky.app/profile/atrupar.com/post/3m3v6mnpkb52i

  • by fallinghawks on 10/23/25, 8:24 PM

    It's all transactional. Do something Trump likes, he'll help you, laws, morals, and ethics be damned.

  • by rts_cts on 10/23/25, 9:16 PM

    I'm not sure it will be a problem for Changpeng Zhao but let's say I was convicted of a felony in the US, served time in prison and then was pardoned by the president. What would my employment prospects be in comparison to someone who didn't receive a pardon?

  • by Animats on 10/23/25, 8:07 PM

    I wonder if civil forfeiture will work against Trump once he's out of office. Trump's net worth before becoming President was under US$1 billion. Now it's over 6 billion. A civil claim for the difference based on the Emoluments Acts.

    "The Foreign Emoluments Clause bars the president and other federal officials from accepting “any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State” without the consent of Congress. It reflects the framers’ desire to prevent federal officials from succumbing to foreign influence.

    The Domestic Emoluments Clause provides for the president to receive a fixed salary and bars him from receiving “any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.” It was designed to insulate the president against undo pressure from Congress or any individual state."

    [1] https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/emol...

  • by dcchambers on 10/23/25, 8:40 PM

    The US is a banana republic now. Absolute joke of an administration.

  • by cedws on 10/23/25, 5:07 PM

    Is there any way to read this other than Trump is cuddling up to crypto because it’s a tool for him and his cronies to make dodgy money?

  • by usisdoomed on 10/24/25, 1:53 AM

    So the lesson is that if you have enough money to buy US president, you can buy freedom

  • by b3ing on 10/23/25, 5:33 PM

    So is Friedman next?

  • by hmate9 on 10/23/25, 10:17 PM

    I’m sure it’s pure coincidence that the Trump family made millions from Binance, CZ, and donations from Trevor Milton and Paul Walczak right before those pardons.

  • by ExpertAdvisor01 on 10/24/25, 5:32 AM

    At least pardons are public in the us .

  • by thr0waway001 on 10/24/25, 3:23 PM

    See you guys later on the ‘Trump pardons Diddy’ thread.

  • by hedayet on 10/24/25, 8:52 AM

    > Pardon follows months of efforts by Changpeng Zhao to boost the Trump crypto company

    How is this not outright corruption?

  • by Tade0 on 10/24/25, 7:19 AM

    Conservatives around the world seem to be comparing notes because over here the now former president pardoned quite a few high-profile cases and at least one before the sentence was given, which was bizarre, as you can't do that and the president, holding a PhD in law, should have known this.

    In any case it appears that not only funds are safu, but Zhao is safu as well.

  • by sleepybrett on 10/23/25, 8:17 PM

    You heard it everyone, crime is legal as long as you pay off the Don.

  • by flipfluck on 10/23/25, 9:12 PM

    Are we great again?

  • by pulisse on 10/23/25, 4:06 PM

    Sub-headline: "Pardon follows months of efforts by Changpeng Zhao to boost the Trump crypto company"

  • by doener on 10/23/25, 8:17 PM

    "President Trump has pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the convicted founder of the crypto exchange Binance, following months of efforts by Zhao to boost the Trump family’s own crypto company."

    You Americans elected a mobster as President.

  • by bryanlarsen on 10/23/25, 7:14 PM

    In contrast, SBF is still in jail despite being Biden's second biggest donor.

  • by WheatMillington on 10/23/25, 8:36 PM

    It's incredible that American corruption can happen out in the open like this. And this isn't a uniquely Trump phenomena. Political pardons are an amazing thing, and they have been used by presidents for a long time now with extremely little scrutiny and no possibility for repercussions. The executive being able to overrule the judiciary is an absolutely jaw-dropping American institution. So much for checks and balances.

  • by netfortius on 10/23/25, 9:27 PM

    Unpopular opinion: America needs/ed this. They nerve truly believed that a Ceaușescu, Hitler, Stalin, Mao were possible in the US. Maybe one or two generations will suffer, but this is a required lesson, for the future maturity of the nation, long term. Assuming they come out in one piece at the other end, of course.

  • by refurb on 10/24/25, 3:27 AM

    Wait, this guy was already out of prison? From what I read he was fined $50M and 4 months in prison.

    So the pardon only removes the criminal conviction?

    It has zero impact on the time he served.

    This doesn’t seemed like the outrageous situation from reading comments.

  • by burnt-resistor on 10/24/25, 3:26 AM

    Pedophile felon destroys takes a wrecking ball to half of the White House without saving historical materials or objects, furiously pardons all sorts of crooks and fraudsters, and talks about not getting into heaven. Sounds like an admission of 6-8 months left to live.

  • by W0lfEagle on 10/23/25, 10:31 PM

    Seems not right

  • by insane_dreamer on 10/23/25, 10:44 PM

    The USA is officially a banana republic.

  • by locallost on 10/23/25, 10:20 PM

    At least the FBI director broke the big news in crime fighting today, how a couple black basketball players were arrested for sports betting.

  • by LightBug1 on 10/23/25, 8:51 PM

    Well, considering the incredible service Zhao has brought to the American people, this is totally understandable.

    /$

  • by moneycantbuy on 10/23/25, 11:55 PM

    our culture is ill

  • by keernan on 10/23/25, 4:14 PM

    >>Representatives of the Trump family have held talks to take a financial stake in the U.S. arm of Binance.

  • by bdavisx on 10/23/25, 4:43 PM

    Serious question - it seems that many of this Administrations activities are illegal in some way or the other. I know that government officials are shielded from a lot of actions so they can not be prosecuted.

    What actions that have been taken could actually be prosecuted? For example, I would have to assume that the ballroom demolition and build-out is illegal, there were $0 appropriated from Congress for this, and it doesn't seem like direct donations would be legal either. They are donations to the government and Congress has to appropriate that money too.

    NOTHING is going to happen while the Republicans control congress, period. What could be done when the next administration comes in? Not just about the ballroom, but the various other things like this pardon. What of these actions are prosecutable?

  • by kevin_thibedeau on 10/23/25, 10:35 PM

    Just wait until the blanket pardon comes out for all of his staff.

  • by deadbabe on 10/23/25, 10:52 PM

    The only way to get around the pardon power being abused is to punish crimes by death, quickly and on the spot.

  • by metalliqaz on 10/23/25, 6:30 PM

    shameless corruption

  • by fogzen on 10/23/25, 9:50 PM

    Better headline: Convicted criminal Trump pardons convicted criminal Binance founder

  • by mmayberry on 10/23/25, 3:51 PM

    Fraud is now legal

  • by nextworddev on 10/23/25, 9:27 PM

    seems like not enough anger in this thread is directed at CZ

  • by LatteLazy on 10/23/25, 11:35 PM

    Unpopular opinion: the case against him/binance was always that as a non us citizen, outside the us, he failed to obey US law and in a paperwork and licensing sense not a violent or otherwise serious manner.

    I don’t like trump. But “CZ” basically paid a ransom to let Binance come in from the cold. Why shouldn’t he pay another to get a clean slate and maybe go back to being CEO?

  • by more_corn on 10/23/25, 6:53 PM

    How much did he pay?

  • by casey2 on 10/23/25, 11:30 PM

    Even more depressing reading the comments that think this hasn't always been the case. It's red guy, it's blue guy, no it's orange guy facepalm

  • by khazhoux on 10/24/25, 1:27 AM

    Genuine question:

    If one wanted to get in on the Trump grift, and had no moral qualms, how would you do it?

    Can you come up with a realistic fast path to snag, say, $5 million within 2 years from Trumpland?

  • by a_ba on 10/23/25, 7:27 PM

    It's high time the Republicans embrace their new leadership with a re-branding of their outfit's name and henceforth call themselves The Banana Republicans

  • by IshKebab on 10/23/25, 8:42 PM

    What if some criminal blatantly says "I'll give you $1bn if you pardon me" and Trump does it? Is that enough for something to happen? Because it seems like that's the only place we can go from here...

  • by Alifatisk on 10/23/25, 8:46 PM

    I cannot comprehend how half of Americans are fine with this corrupt leader? He even does this bizarre maffia like deals out in the open for his own interest, that's how confident he is no one will say anything

    The message is clear from his circus administration, you can do anything as long as you bribe them

  • by tartuffe78 on 10/23/25, 5:51 PM

    It's a good thing Trump is as old as he is. Imagine if a 50 year old had this much influence over his party, could ignore any law, and stole this much money.

    May I never live to see such a thing happen in the US, but it doesn't feel unlikely.

  • by JumpinJack_Cash on 10/23/25, 9:00 PM

    A part of me despises this orange guy,

    another part is thankful that he is there as a proof that you can get to a high status and high relevance role in society and still mantain your humanity, your inner child alive, not being robotic and just have a blast doing whatever the f you want.

    There is no point getting to the top if you then lose all your humanity and playfulness.

    Like if the condition to become President were to become a robot like Hillary Clinton or Joe Biden, thanks no, I pass....Trump on the other hand is the best of both worlds.

  • by daveguy on 10/23/25, 8:36 PM

    At this point, I wouldn't touch crypto with a 10 ft pole. What happens when everyone recognizes that the whole thing has turned into a money laundering grift? Who's going to give you anything for your bozo bucks? At this rate, it's not going to take long.

  • by carnufex on 10/23/25, 8:52 PM

    I mean is it any different than Joe Biden given blanket pardons hundreds of people for crimes that they may have committed over a 10 year span?

  • by dmitrygr on 10/23/25, 10:29 PM

    Pardon count per president:

       President                Count
   --------------------------------
   Joe Biden               ~8,064  | 
   Donald Trump             ~237   | 
   Barack Obama            ~1,927  | 
   George W. Bush            ~200  | 
   Bill Clinton             ~459   | 
   George H.W. Bush          ~77   |

  • by seany on 10/23/25, 8:42 PM

    Seems like just nuking the stupid AML rules would be better.

  • by sleepybrett on 10/23/25, 8:22 PM

    If we ever get trump out of office we need to re-arrest every last one of these guys. The supremes can whine and cry as we keep them in prison. They can raise an army if the want anything different.

    Serious controls need to be placed around the pardon power.

  • by pwlm on 10/23/25, 9:49 PM

    Words and sentences can easily be misconstrued in threads like these.

    I truly want to know of a better way to have discussions on a topic of this importance.

  • by seydor on 10/23/25, 8:49 PM

    I don't get the hate.

    He served 4 months for a laundering case , and has built the most successful exchange. There are bankers and vcs doing far worse things. He deserved the pardon , and no, he doesn't control bitcoin

  • by annexrichmond on 10/23/25, 11:56 PM

    It feels like HN is slowly turning into reddit with the comment section becoming mostly snide remarks

    Instead of just commenting about being dismayed with the state of things, how about step back and speculate as to why he did this pardon, and what the implications of it are.

    I don't know the answer to either, but I surely didn't learn much from what used to be an insightful, intelligent crowd